The first Gilbert Arenas session with the media since his 50-game suspension and 30-day halfway house sentence for bringing guns into the Verizon Center didn’t quite have the epic scale that the lengthy time spent waiting for it might have merited, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t dramatic.
It was simply more of a short film.
Three minutes, 12 seconds to be exact, since the Wizards PR official that accompanied Arenas to the far corner of the Wizards practice court to face a bank of cameras and microphones just after 1 p.m. on Monday started dropping the curtain on the press after only two minutes.
But even if that hardly gave enough time to even glance at the surface of questions that need to be asked to and addressed by Arenas, his demeanor did.
Serious. Stone-faced. Smile-challenged. Somber. Sullen. Sad? Combined with bloodshot eyes that made it look like Arenas hadn’t slept in days and an unkempt beard, the whole thing turned the media day session into a search for the Arenas that most people in Washington had come to know and expect until last year.
“The only place I want to smile is on the court,” said Arenas. “That’s what my job is. That’s where my love is. That’s the only time I need to smile now… I’m very happy. In the past I used to show my happiness on the outside. There’s no need to do that anymore. I can just play the game the right way, play with my passion, and that’s what I need to focus on.”
Before the Wizards stole him back – an exit that was nicely timed with the arrival of Wizards head coach Flip Saunders for his own media session – I managed to get in one question about how Arenas felt about his relationship with the franchise, given the way his likeness had been wiped from the Verizon Center last year.
“It’s a great relationship,” he said. “It’s still a business. Any product you own, if something happens to it, you gotta do what you gotta do to save your company. I understand it, and now we just gotta move forward.”
The lighter question becomes, how long is the beard going to last? Apparently, he and teammate Nick Young, who is embarking on growing an Afro but clearly has a long way to go, are engaging in some sort of hair-growing contest. The heavier question is, why is Gilbert taking on this persona in front of the media? Keep in mind, he tried and failed with a media boycott last year.
“He’s probably trying to make a change,” said Young. “I see him coming in here, working harder, trying to get his name back and trying to get back to being Gilbert Arenas, Agent Zero. I just want to see him do it. He’s making the transition, and I think he’ll be alright… I’m happy to see Gil back. That’s a good friend of mine. I wish nothing but the best for him. He took under his wing since high school and stuff. I pretty much know him from back in the day. To see his confidence back, not letting things bother him, coming to the gym every day, working hard is good.”
“I don’t think he’s going to be maybe as loose as he’s been in the past,” said Saunders. “I think as you get to a certain point in your career, there are certain things that become more important things. I think in order to achieve some of the success that you want, you have to approach it at times, ‘I gotta get serious with things.’ That’s where he’s at. He’s very serious, and he’s been serious in approach in preseason. He’s been very serious with his teammates. I think as anything, when players, as they are entertainers, when they get in front of crowds, emotion will always take over the game. He’s still going to play with passion. That’s one of the greatest things he has, his passion to play and to exceed at a high level.”
But the beard?
“It’s horrible, man. But that’s Gil, I guess,” said teammate Al Thornton, who was less sure about the serious tone. “I don’t know if that’s a front or not, you know what I’m saying? When we’ve playing pick-up and in the locker room, he’s been joking and seemed cool, approachable. I don’t what he’s going for with that.”
